Tolerance Way

Hoşgörü Yolu

Welcome to the Tolerance Way

The Roman Emperor Galerius published the first known edict of tolerance in the world on April 30, 311. With this edict, Christians were given the freedom to worship and the freedom to rebuild their churches providing that they complied with the law. Another feature of the published Tolerance Edict was that it inspired the second edict, which was published in Milan in 313 and expanded to include all religions. By virtue of these two published edicts of tolerance, the foundations of tolerance were laid.

The Tolerance Way is the road to Iznik (Nikaia) from Izmit (Nicomedia); the latter was the only city with the title of Metropolis and the capital at the time when the Edict of Tolerance was published (30 April AD 311). The total length of the Tolerance Way is about 126 km (both walking and cycling routes).

This route was used by the French traveler and ambassador Charles de Peyssonnel in 1745, and by the Canadian botanist Robert Chamber in 1906. In 1955, during the Democratic Party period, the construction of the Iznik Road started via Bahçecik in order to transport the vegetables and fruits of the Iznik region to Istanbul along the shortest route, but it was not finished because of the 1960 Turkish coup d’état.

The historical road between Izmit (Nicomedia) and Iznik (Nicaea), which was in use for at least 1700 years, gave the idea and the name – the Tolerance Way – to our walking and bicycling route of about 126 km, the Tolerance Way.

The Tolerance Way will enable walkers to see nearby historical and natural beauties. It is based on original walking paths lying in the area between Izmit (Nicomedia) and Iznik (Nikaia) where the Romans ruled in antiquity. For detailed historical and cultural information about the route, you may visit